


handcrafted

by flavus



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Newspaper, Alternate Universe - Office, Anxiety, Bisexual Character, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Idk what this is anymore honestly, Light Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Panic Attack, Peggy and Maria are platonic, Pining, SO MUCH FLUFF, ensemble fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-15
Updated: 2017-07-15
Packaged: 2018-12-02 09:44:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11506809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flavus/pseuds/flavus
Summary: or, the one where everyone in the office except maria and peggy secretly (or not-so-secretly) is in love with someone else.the one time angelica kind of forces her newsmagazine staff into a gift exchange in the middle of summer but mandates that the gifts have to be handmade (re: things get steamy).





	handcrafted

**Author's Note:**

> first attempt at an ensemble fic, and it's kind of all over the place. (jamilton ended up being slightly the main focus. but uh--)
> 
> trigger warning: panic attack
> 
> enjoy! :~)

From the outside, _The Revolution_ ’s office looked like a nondescript building.

From the inside, it was an entirely different story.

Angelica was trying to maintain her composure as she talked on the phone, Eliza and Herc were competing for the title of "Best Office Parent" by frantically delivering coffees to everyone's desks, Aaron was talking to his succulents in hushed tones, John was noticeably absent - late one hour, as usual, Laf was standing far too close to George for it to be merely friendly, Alex and Thomas were about to rip each others' throats out over the last blueberry muffin, and Maria and Peggy were discussing the latest issue of _People_.

All in all, a normal day at the office.

/

Theodosia smiled as she pushed open the door and saw her little office family, and the sight of her brought a smile, unbidden, to Angelica's face.

Okay, so maybe she was smiling for one person in particular.

"Angie, calm down," Theodosia laughed as she sat down at her desk, adjacent to Angelica's, while setting her camera bag next to her computer. "The world won't stop because you can't get so-and-so to sit down for an interview."

Angelica glared at her, but she knew it wasn't serious and that the other woman was taking her advice to heart, as she heard a polished "Alright, I guess we'll see you next week instead of this week then. I look forward to talking with you in person," then the end of the call.

"Would it kill you to be less of a workaholic?" Theo joked.

"Oh, come on, you're exactly the same way with your photo shoots, so don't even start with me," Angelica rolled her eyes playfully, sidling up to Theo's desk.

She smelled of coffee and vanilla and Theo wanted to kiss her senseless, but she was reminded of the fact that Angelica was her boss at worst and her friend at best, and she had no idea how many HR violations Eliza would level them with if anything happened.

Not that she would be interested, of course.

While those thoughts ran through Theo's mind in the course of a few seconds, Angelica let her gaze flit to Theo while the other's eyes were glazed over.

"God, she's beautiful," Angelica muttered, remembering the first time she saw Theo: George was still the editor of The Revolution, but there had already been talk of him stepping down and her taking his place, so she'd been sent in to interview the new photographer after Charles Lee quit.

However, it wasn't Theo's looks that caught Angelica’s eye first: It was her photos.

Theo had a very distinct style: she took photos from odd angles, whether upside-down, sideways, or masked by another object, and they always had an unnerving feeling that made observers question the objects in the photo and the world around them. Angelica was hooked on them, and once Theo opened her mouth, she knew not only that Theo would be a good fit for the newsmagazine, but someone she would admire.

She didn't intend to develop a crush on her.

Theo jolted Angelica out of her reverie with a snort. "Hey, did your sister get you yet?"

Suddenly a coffee was being shoved into Angelica's hand, her favorite: a no-frills Americano. From another cubicle not too far away, Herc could be heard groaning while Eliza whooped.

"I guess she did," Angelica shrugged, smiling at Theo. "Hey, I have the perfect idea for us" - let's go out on a date, she wanted to say - "What if we roped the entire office into a summer gift exchange?"

"Like Secret Santa, but Secret...I don't know, is there a summer icon?"

Angelica chuckled. "This is" - why I like you so much - "probably a horrible idea, come to think of it, but I feel like this could cure more than just my supposed addiction to work." She didn't dare give voice to what she actually hoped would happen.

/

"Damn," Herc muttered, crossing his arms petulantly as he met Eliza's triumphant eyes. "How are you so good at this?"

Eliza smirked. "Practice. With two siblings and a single father? You bet I excelled at getting lunches and coffee ready. Angie was always terrible with cooking, and Peggy almost burned the house down heating up water, so -" she shrugged. "I just adapted."

"What about me getting coffee for Laf, John, and Alex in college?" Herc offered up a sheepish smile.

"That doesn't count because you weren't under a time crunch! Plus, Alex makes grabby hands at any kind of coffee you thrust at him."

"Fine," he huffed. "I'll beat you tomorrow."

She just winked at him. "You wish," Eliza called over her shoulder as she all but skipped to the front desk.

"I really need to draw up a battle plan," he said to himself, and started to sketch out the layout of the office, planning routes around each one.

From her desk, Eliza saw Herc jotting down what was definitely not an article, and held in a laugh when he noticed her looking and held up a sign that said "Best Office Dad", with arrows pointed down toward him.

He was incorrigible, but she couldn't imagine the office without him.

/

  
As Eliza sat down at her desk, John strolled in, a pair of shades fixed firmly over his eyes while he shot finger guns at her.

"Hey, 'Liza!"

"John," she laughed. "Late again, as usual."

"Hey, sporting research waits for no one. Do you-"

"On your desk - it's from Herc, though, so there's no telling how good it is," Eliza ribbed as John groaned.

"He always forgets to ask for the whipped cream," he sighed dramatically while walking by Herc's desk, eliciting a pronounced eyeroll from his friend.

When John got to his desk, he was relieved to find that, for once, Herc had not forgotten the whipped cream. All but throwing his bag down on the desk, he leaned back in his office chair and took a sip of the white chocolate mocha, closing his eyes in bliss.

"Hey, sleepyhead, managed to drag your ass to the office after all?" Aaron joked from beside him.

"For your information, Mr. Burr, sir," John quipped, "I had important research to do, and I am closing my eyes in appreciation of my coffee, not because I was sleeping."

"Whatever you say, John," the other man chuckled, "But just for your information," he parroted back, "I do much of my research perfectly fine here in the comfort of my own office, and come in early just like everyone else."

"In the job description, they did say it was a flexible schedule," John retorted jokingly.

"Flexible to us means brick," Aaron deadpanned. "You're lucky you haven't been fired yet."

"Hey, I have valuable contributions to The Revolution. None of y'all would ever write about sporting events."

"You're not wrong there," his friend shrugged, turning back to his computer.

Your face is a valuable contribution to this newsmagazine, Aaron thought, then mentally groaned and tried to resist the urge to bang his head on his keyboard.

At least his plants were always willing to listen to his...admittedly embarrassing pining over his freckled officemate. And Alex and Thomas were always at the ready to distract him with their constant bribing him to write political articles that reflected his own opinions.

/

A few cubicles over, Laf was trying to convince his boyfriend, George, to move in with him.

"You stay with me all the time, so why do you not want to move?"

"M-move in with you," George stuttered, shocked at the proposition. He'd only just gotten used to not getting dirty looks from Eliza when he lingered just a bit longer in Lafayette's presence. He was nearly forty, but when Laf looked at him the way that he did, with those eyes - George felt like he was sixteen, with his first crush.

"Yes, yes, mon coeur!" Laf smiled, leaning over George to type in "apartment" in the Google search bar. "We can pick a new place, if you like?"

"Uh," George said eloquently.

The response caused Laf to pause and shift so his eyes were level with George's.

"It is alright if you're not ready," he said softly. "I will wait."

George's heart felt like exploding.

/

Alex exploded.

"Honestly, Jefferson, you do this shit all the fucking time! How can you just expect to stake your claim over this muffin?"

Thomas paused with the muffin two inches away from his mouth. "I got here earlier than you did, Hamilton, which gives me every right to take the damn muffin for myself and enjoy a nice breakfast with the coffee provided to me by our lovely office parents," he said, never breaking his gaze with Alex.

"You are absolutely infuriating," Alex groaned. "You think that just because you arrive one second - one fucking second, may I remind you? Before me in the break room, you're entitled to the muffin. I have a longer article due Wednesday, so I need the energy more than you," he pouted.

"Hamilton," Jefferson crooned, taking a bite of the coveted blueberry muffin while never faltering under Alex's icy stare, "You get enough energy from the ungodly amount of shots in that black sludge you guzzle down every morning. I do think the office would benefit if you stopped talking every few seconds because you weren't so...energetic."

In an impulsive move, Alex slapped the muffin out of Thomas's hand.

"Dick," Thomas muttered as he stared forlornly at the muffin on the ground.

Alex swooped it up and deftly tore off the part that hadn't touched the ground, smirking at Thomas. "You snooze, you lose," he mocked, all but running out of the break room.

Thomas contemplated running after him, but decided he would use the time to eat the blueberry muffin he'd stashed in his pocket earlier. If his hands had tremors, that was his business only.

Okay, so he was riling Alex up on purpose, because he didn't know how to act around him. He didn't know how to be vulnerable around Alex. So he found Alex attractive when he was angry, and even when he wasn't - that wasn't a crime, he defended himself.

Although Alex's ass looking sinful in those tailored pants? That was.

/

Maria and Peggy giggled to themselves behind their _People_ magazine as they heard Thomas and Alex go at it again.

"How long do you think it'll take for them to realize that they're head over heels for each other?" Peggy whispered to Maria.

"Probably years, because both of them are melodramatic pieces of shit," Maria sighed. "But I imagine the...climax would be a sight to see."

Peggy snorted. "I caught that innuendo, you know."

"Let's make a bet," Maria squealed with glee. "Ten dollars?"

"Make it twenty, and you've got a deal."

"We need to make this an office pool."

Suddenly, Angie could be heard throughout the office, as she summoned everyone to the newsroom for their weekly editors' meeting.

"I know just the person to talk to," Peggy winked.

/

Angelica tapped her fingers on the table, waiting for the rest of her staff to come in. As they did, she smiled to herself: despite all her qualms about her crazy office, she held them dear to her heart, and was honored that George would even consider her as his successor as editor.

"I think you have the temperament to handle all of this" - he gestured around the office, and she suppressed a chuckle - "and you're one of the most intelligent people I know," he concluded.

"I'd be honored, George," she'd said, tearing up. "But promise me you'll still write for us?"

There was a twinkle in his eye when he nodded. "Yeah, wouldn't skip on it for the world."

She'd teased him about Laf and it was something new to see the flush flooding his face, knowing how much power she had over her old boss and long-time friend by mentioning one name. They hadn't been dating then, because she knew George: wanting to do the "right thing", trying to avoid HR violations, but she also knew when she saw them leaving together, hand in hand inconspicuously, the day after George stepped down that it had been eating at him, not dating Laf.

"Yo, Angie, you ready?" John called out. "You look like you're either about to shred us on something or give us the worst news of our lives."

"Actually, it's neither of those," she smirked. "I was thinking, since last week was a double issue and we had enough content for this week within that one, we need a break."

The entire room fell silent for a moment, everyone's eyes meeting each others' with incredulous stares. Though George had often given the staff weekly breaks, under Angelica breaks were rare and sacrosanct.

"Yes, I dared to say it - a break," she laughed, breaking the silence, and that was all it took to sufficiently convince her staff, who broke out into rambunctious cheers.

"Okay, I'll take it back if Thomas can stop doing - whatever that is," Angelica rolled her eyes at spotting Thomas doing an odd blend of the sprinkler, the robot, and break-dancing. Alex coughed to hide a triumphant laugh, Thomas pouted his way, and there was peace in the room as everyone turned their eyes to her again.

"Instead, this week we'll be doing a summer version of a Secret Santa. I have everyone's names written on scrap pieces of paper in this hat - and trust me, I made sure you wouldn't be able to feel out who you're getting: the pen I used doesn't create an indent on the other side."

There were audible groans, notably from John and Thomas.

"By the end of the week, you'll have to get a gift for your exchange partner. But there are three rules: no talking about the exchange in your free time or swapping people. Trust me, I'll know -" there were shudders from around the room, because their boss knew how to get information out of people and where to find it - "and you'll pay for it. This isn't the kind of Secret Santa where you give multiple little gifts every day, since that gives up clues as to your secret gift-giver's identity, and we wouldn't want that, would we?" Another set of groans, this time from Aaron and George.

"Last, all the gifts - yes, gifts, because I'd like you to give at least two things - must be hand-made or DIY."

"Holy shit, we are definitely fucked," John groaned. "Doesn't this give Theo and Herc an advantage? They do artsy things and the rest of us don't."

The others murmured in assent, while smug grins settled on Theo and Herc's faces.

"Fine, one gift can be store-bought, but just know I won't be happy," she relented. "Now, who wants to draw names?"

One by one, everyone went up to pick a name from the hat, wearing identical expressions of nervous excitement, and came back to their seat outfitted with a poker face, although by the way Thomas's mouth twitched upwards, Angelica could guess who he'd gotten. But it wasn't her place to say anything - not yet, anyway.

After everyone had left with their names, Maria and Peggy sidled up to her and said, "We have a proposition for you."

They whispered it in her ear, and Angelica’s eyes glimmered with excitement.

"Let's do it."

/

"I can't believe I got John, of all people," Aaron whined to Jon, his closest friend outside the office. "What am I gonna get him? More importantly, how am I going to get him something that doesn't scream 'I think I have a huge crush on you and recently discovered it and now sitting next to you is a little bit unbearable'?"

Jon just laughed. "Calm down, Aaron, you'll figure it out. I know you have opinions on things, even if the rest of the office doesn't."

"Yeah, like the opinion that seventy-five percent of the time you're a prick," Aaron scoffed.

"You jest, you love me.”

"You're not wrong there," Aaron sighed in joking defeat. "At least with this break we can hang out more."

"Yeah, there's this new coffee place I'd love to try! Are you down?"

"Usual time?"

While Jon checked to make sure he was free around lunchtime the next day, Aaron's phone pinged with a new text - group message, actually - from Angelica: "Office pool: Thomas and Alex. Place your bets for when they're finally gonna make out and disgust us even more." Aaron snorted and showed the text to Jon, who knew all about the drama between Thomas and Alex, since Aaron had picked up on it months before when Thomas was hired. He and Alex immediately took to badgering Aaron with bribes that escalated to comical heights: "a new phone and the use of his car for a week" from Thomas and "your entire house, cleaned, and food on your table for two weeks!" from Alex. All for their own opinions to be reflected in Aaron's articles.

They were definitely into hearing the others' opinions, though. Which the entire office could tell even though Alex and Thomas were at each others' throats when they weren't out writing articles - Angelica had to give them the most mundane events to cover so their opinions wouldn't bleed through in the writing. Hence the attempted bribing of Aaron. (Although that cleaning and the use of a car far nicer than Aaron owned - well, if they combined forces, he may have been so inclined.)

Jon let out a full-bellied guffaw, filled with fondness. "These idiots are never gonna realize it. I'll take a year."

"I'll text Angie." Privately, Aaron thought they'd realize their feelings sooner, so he also added a bet of his own for the end of the week.

"Wow, you've got faith in them!" Jon said, laughing.

"It's great how I can be optimistic about my coworkers' relationship status but not about my own," he deadpanned.

"Don't worry," Jon comforted him. "Maybe you're more mistaken than you thought."

From a distance, John saw Jon put his hand on Aaron's back and felt a twinge of something he hadn't let himself admit fill his stomach.

/

Laf held the strip of paper in his hands, turning it over anxiously. He thought he knew what he wanted to do for the gift exchange, but wasn't sure how his person would receive the gift.

"Angie, what have you done?" he muttered softly, then pulled up the notes app on his phone and started listing out potential items to make or buy for them.

In the middle of doing so, he got her office pool text, and it brought a smile to his face. "I will guess three weeks," he texted back, and reclined in his chair. George came up behind him, putting his hands over Laf's eyes, and whispered, "Guess who?"

Laf almost slapped him in shock. "George! Mon ami, what are you doing?"

George looked mildly guilty, but also wickedly happy. He always felt like a younger version of himself - the person he was in his prime - when he was with Laf and he was grateful for it.

(How to pay back that, he still had no clue.)

"Just wanted to surprise my favorite person. What're you doing?" When George leaned over to see Laf's phone, the other man hurriedly covered it up.

"It's for the exchange!" he whispered. George let it go and smiled at him.

"If I got you for the exchange, and I didn't know you, I'd want to exchange numbers," he joked, eliciting a groan from Laf.

"That is a terrible pick-up line, especially because you already have my number," his boyfriend groaned.

"Then I'll text you," George continued, "Are we still on for dinner tonight?"

"Yep," Laf answered cheerfully.

Both men wondered how they were going to keep their gifts secret from the other. It would be a long week.

/

"If there is a God, He very clearly wants to obliterate me," Thomas said, flopping onto the couch of his and James's favorite coffeeshop during their lunch breaks. "Thank God you don't work at _The Revolution_ anymore, because I wouldn't be able to rant to you."

"Is that all I'm good for?" James quirked an eyebrow at Thomas.

"Jemmy, you know I didn't mean that!" Thomas returned with a wheedling smile and James rolled his eyes.

"Just like you don't mean all the venomous things you say to Alex?"

"Hmph." Thomas covered his face, groaning. "I mean, sort of along those lines? I just - why him?"

"As if I don't know you have an actual list of things you wouldn't mind giving him as gifts? Thomas, I know you. You overprepare for these kinds of events, and I know you've been saving the first edition of the-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's just, I probably can't give him a gift without him thinking it's some sort of practical joke. Or can I?..."

The wheels in Thomas's head started turning, and for once he was excited at the prospect of compiling a gift for his supposedly greatest nemesis. (Read: biggest crush.)

Meanwhile, said person was also struggling with their exchange partner, but for completely different reasons.

Alex frowned at the paper he'd drawn, hoping that it would suddenly turn into a bird and fly away. Or at the very least, transform into a different name.

Unfortunately, he didn't live in the world of Harry Potter, and therefore magic did not exist. "Thomas Jefferson" was scrawled in Angelica’s messy handwriting, right in front of him.

"Why couldn't I have gotten Eliza?" he muttered to himself. Even though they'd dated before, they'd parted amicably, after Eliza realized that she had a crush on someone else - they didn't talk much about relationships, but they were friends, at least. And he pretended she didn't look at Herc the way he looked at Jefferson. Thomas. Fuck. Every time the man laughed, Alex's eyes were drawn to him - it wasn't his fault that the man was unfairly attractive, and one time he'd helped carry groceries for an old lady crossing the street, and fuck if Alex wasn't completely whipped.

"But it's not even like we talk outside the office, anyway. I mean, we have each others' numbers, but everyone in the office has everyone else's cell phone number," Alex went on rambling. "Maybe I could talk to - Oh, wait! James!"

In the middle of the coffeeshop, as Thomas paid for his coffee, James looked down and saw a new text from Alexander Hamilton.

"hey uhhh so i,,, kind of ended up getting JEFFERSON FOR THE GIFT EXCHANGE and uh we don't talk that much but i really nEED YOUR HELP??? and i'll pay u in coffee or smt please i just am kind of freaking out about this ahahahaa"

This should be fun, James smirked.

"What's that look on your face?" Thomas asked as he returned with coffee for the both of them.

"Nothing, just a friend." Thomas looked suspicious, but accepted the explanation anyway.

"hey, alex. i would definitely take you up on that coffee offer, and as for your actual question - i have many ideas that could help you ;) text me about meeting up."

/

Peggy had to suppress the urge to fist-pump when she got back to her desk and was able to double-check that she withdrew the name she had.

Maria was her best friend, and she was more than happy to lavish amazing gifts on her. In fact, she already had a few ideas in mind, and was making a shopping list at her desk when Angelica came by.

"Hey, sis, what's up?"

A muffled grunt was all that came from her sister.

"I thought we weren't supposed to talk about the exchange," Peggy joked. Angie shot her a death glare and sighed.

"Well, I guess that's out the window anyway. Only getting one person would make me react like this."

"I mean, you, me, and Eliza still share an apartment, so it was gonna come out some way or another." Peggy shrugged. At the sound of her name, however faint, Eliza leaned over the cubicle's wall to talk to her sisters.

"That girl has ears like a hawk," Angelica muttered, but waved to Eliza anyway.

"You realize I can hear you, right?" Eliza slotted herself next to Peggy, and winked.

"So, you're telling me that-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

"I'm in the same boat as you, you know," Eliza said, blushing.

"Honestly, y'all! You didn't have to catch feelings for your best friends," Peggy playfully scolded her sisters in hushed voices.

"Uh, we didn't, because our best friend is you!" Eliza crooned cheerfully. Angelica slung an arm over both their shoulders.

"I love you two dorks, but I have a gift to plan," Peggy sighed.

"Let me guess, similar situation minus the 'I'm-actually-crushing-on-the-person-I-have-for-this-exchange' feels?" Angelica gave her a knowing look, and Peggy nodded.

"I'm excited, okay? I am a gift-giving master."

"Can't refute that," Eliza shrugged. "But I mean, you might be eating your words after seeing what I give to-"

Angelica slapped a hand over her sister's mouth. "Remember the rules! Even if we already broke them," she smiled sheepishly, "That doesn't mean that you can just spread that fact around."

Herc, Maria, and Theo, who had been straining to listen to the sisters' conversation, were sorely disappointed that they'd heard nothing - although it was a vestige of hidden conversations the three of the sisters had shared when their dad was at political meetings and they were in the room.

"What if we spy on them?" Theo brought up, bouncing with excitement.

"Oh my god," Maria laughed. "It's more fun if we wait, anyway."

Herc murmured assent, but the thought of who he had was weighing on his mind anyway, although he definitely had an idea for what to make. Hopefully he didn't seem presumptuous when he guessed her size, though.

  
/

That day, and for the rest of the week, the office was strangely quiet, without the normal bustle of activity. Given that the employees were all on a break and Angelica had postponed all interviews until next week, most of them filtered in and out of the office.

The only things that had stayed constant were the frenetic pace with which Eliza and Herc continued their coffee wars and Alex and Thomas's increasingly loud arguments, over increasingly mundane things, from who got to put their new magnet on the office fridge to whose paper had just come out of the printer - and that last one, they argued over even though Thomas's name was clearly on the top of it.

"I really hope that whoever my exchange partner was, they brought me earbuds, because my ears are broken after this week," George grumbled as he walked in on yet another of the infamous arguments, this one over who would hold the door open for people when they walked in.

He also secretly hoped that they would finally resolve their dispute with extracurricular activities, although hopefully this coming Monday instead of today, because he had a good twenty dollars (and potentially more) riding on it.

The office pool had become the main topic of conversation among The Revolution's staff, given that they couldn't discuss who they had as gift partners; everyone except Thomas and Alex had contributed to the pool, although Jon and James had also pitched in.

There were twelve hundred dollars by Friday, and everyone was itching to find out whether or not they had betted correctly. The bets ranged from as early as that Friday - Aaron’s - to a year - Maria’s.

Aaron knew it was probably cheating, but everyone else had contributed to the thing he'd done for the wayward almost-couple, so apparently they didn't seem to mind or were just fed up with the arguments. He had the scroll under one arm and his actual gift under another, but he could feel himself shaking and prayed that he didn't end up dropping anything before he had a chance to give it away.

"Alright, crew, let's get this party started," Angelica said, ushering them into the newsroom and motioning to a corner where everyone dropped their presents. She raised an eyebrow at some of the more oddly-shaped ones, Thomas's and John's included, but didn't say anything.

When everyone had taken a seat, she surveyed the room, wondering which gift she would start with. The staff members were engaged in quiet conversation with another, so she picked a present randomly and held it up, reading the tag, smiling as she recognized Herc's familiar writing.

"To my gifting partner, Eliza - I hope you enjoy these two things, because you deserve the best and I hope I gave it to you."

There were small tears welling up in Eliza's eyes as Angelica handed the gift to her with a soft smile, a well-wrapped box that was decently sized.

After hesitating for a beat, all eyes on her, Eliza ripped open the wrapping paper and broke open the box to find -

"Holy mother of pearl," she whispered. Inside was a mint green sundress embroidered with sunflowers and made from chiffon and silk, and looking at it made Eliza want to cry, even more. It was gorgeous, and utterly, completely her, and she lifted it up from the box and twirled around with it on, to kind applause from the rest of her coworkers. She did an exaggerated bow and gasped when she saw something else inside the box.

Underneath the dress had been a wooden plaque in the shape of a coffee cup, the words "Best Office Mom," carved on it.

"It's perfect," Eliza choked out, smiling harder than she thought was possible.

The rest of the room noticed how brightly she was beaming, and Angelica and Peggy were astounded at the lengths at which her exchange partner had gone to make something for her.

"How are we gonna top that?" Theo grumbled softly to Herc, who was thankful for the dark complexion that hid his fierce blush.

After a few more moments, Eliza collected herself and realized she was supposed to guess who the giver was, but everyone else in the room knew there was no one else.

"Herc?" she said timidly, grinning at him.

He rubbed a hand nervously on the back of his neck. "That'd be me. Did you - I mean, I'm really, really glad you liked it."

"There's something - or someone - else I like, if you catch my drift," she winked at him, and Herc's eyes almost bugged out.

"Okay, that's enough of that," Angelica cut in, rolling her eyes at Eliza. "Let's move on."

The next two gifts she picked belonged to Maria and Peggy, who were each others' exchange partners. The former made the latter a magazine starring her as a fashion star and a paper crown, which made Peggy blush with delight, and the latter made a home-made spa set for Maria, who urged her to come over as soon as possible so the two of them could have a spa day.

"You know, the whole point of a gift is that it's for you," Peggy quipped, but Maria laughed.

"Yeah, but what other gift is better than spending time with one of my favorite people?"

They both settled back into their seats wearing expressions of happiness, and the gift exchange proceeded apace.

Angelica picked up the smallest gift from the pile, which had a small tag that read: "To my beloved. I am sorry if it is too soon, but I cannot wait."

To nobody's surprise, the box went to George, who popped it open - "Is it an engagement ring?" Maria inquired a bit too loudly, then flushed and closed her mouth when George colored awkwardly - to find makeshift earmuffs and a key, decorated in Lafayette's loopy writing in red, white, and blue. It read "For our house."

For a second, George felt the world standing still around him, but in the best way possible: he wanted to keep this moment close to him forever, and though he felt a dreamy smile spill onto his face, he didn't feel any shame. (Okay, maybe a little bit of shame. But even so.)

"You like?" Laf was fiddling his fingers anxiously. "I am so sorry I was not able to talk further with you about it."

George jogged over to where Laf was sitting and gave him a reassuring hug. "We'll talk after you see what your, uh, gift exchange partner gave you."

Although Angelica would've wanted to pick up George's gift next, just for continuity, she had no way of telling which it was, and ended up picking out Eliza's gift from the pile.

"You deserve the world and everything in it. Thank you for being you," she'd written to Hercules, and when he peered into the bag, he positively squealed. "You got me new sewing materials? And -" He laughed, seeing something similar to what he'd made Eliza. She'd made him a cardboard crown and painted over it in his favorite colors, maroon and yellow, then written "Best Office Dad" on it.

Eliza's heart skipped a beat as she saw how much Hercules enjoyed her gift, and when he walked over to thank her, his scent lingering on her hair when he hugged her, she wanted nothing more than to hold him close.

"Okay, lovers, let's move on," Angelica said, picking up another gift from the rapidly shrinking group. It was extremely thin - it seemed like the person had just gift-wrapped paper - but the note adorning it was heartfelt.

"Lafayette, you are my sun on even the darkest days. This doesn't seem like much, but it means a lot to me, and I hope you're happy with it."

After the present had been handed to Laf, he tore it open gently, and the chatter in the room came to a standstill when everyone saw the tears in Laf's eyes.

"You have decided? You are okay with moving in?" Laf waved the papers, the expiration of George's lease on his apartment and a longer letter explaining what it meant, frantically in the air. "Mon amour, you too are my sunshine. I am so happy that you are okay with this, and so sorry that I could not talk to you about it this wee-"

"Come here," George grunted, and pulled Lafayette closer to him.

"Oh my god, how sappy can the two of you get?" John jeered playfully. Laf and George, however, were oblivious to anything and everything, as evidenced by the fact that they were fully involved in a passionate kiss.

"Get a room!" Alex laughed.

"We are at work, you know," Eliza cut in firmly, but the impact of her statement was softened by her giggle. "Ah, fuck it, HR can wait," she shrugged, and strode over to Herc, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. His gobsmacked face was, she thought, the cutest reaction ever.

"that wasn't a joke, right?? do you want to go out for dinner??" he texted a moment later, and she nodded almost imperceptibly at him, a smile spreading across her face.

Alex winked at Eliza and Herc from across the room, and they returned the gesture with wide smiles, a promise for future conversations.

"Apparently our office is also revolutionary for its magical ability to get people laid and in love," Angelica deadpanned, with Maria and Peggy the only platonic pair among the three other couples - they were taking blurry candids of the other two couples looking disgustingly head over heels for each other.

Please don't let him have me, Aaron thought frantically as Angelica headed back to the pile to pick another present. Please, I don't know what I'll do if John has me, I hope it's Thomas, or even Alexander, or Theo, or Angelica-

"For Aaron: honestly, I wish you would talk to me the way you talk to your plants. Although I might have heard my name spoken to them a few times..." Angelica read out a winky face emoji, and Aaron did all he could to facepalm. It was definitely John, because no one else would've written a winky face emoji on a note. "Anyway, you're a home run kind of person, and anyone would be lucky to score you."

She handed the gift over to Aaron with a sympathetic look, and if Aaron hadn't been so fixated on his own embarrassment and had hazarded a peek at John, he would've known that the other man had a similar flush on his face.

"Oh, Aaron Burr has an opinion!" Alex chuckled. "And his opinion is-" Thomas cut him off with a hand over Alex's mouth.

"Can't you see the poor guy is embarrassed enough already? Let him be," Thomas whispered in Alex's ear.

Alex grumbled loudly but regardless stayed quiet as Aaron opened the present.

"Is this really-"

"Yeah," John said sheepishly, not meeting Aaron's eyes. "I know how much you love plants, so uh, I got you more seeds, and I heard you talking about how you wanted to grow violets and daisies, and I figured you'd need one of those planter thingies so I decided to paint my own, and it kind of ended up a mess-"

Aaron decided he'd better save John from his own rambling. "It's amazing, John," he said, a small grin on his face. "Thank you so, so much."

When he examined the planter closer, there was a small drawing on the side that hadn't been painted over, sketched in gel pen. It was of him and John holding hands.

Torn between exhilaration and embarrassment, Aaron's body apparently settled on the latter, as he found himself texting Jon - "HE LIKES ME BACK!!!!!!"

"god i've never heard u this excited before except about ur plants (and me ofc) but congrats :)))))"

He then sent a message to John while Angelica picked up the next gift - "dinner tonight, at 7?"

"Y E S" was the quick response, and they ended up shooting each other soft glances from across the room while Angelica read the note on the next gift.

"Oh shit," she whispered. "Uh." She paused for a breath, then said in a slightly quavering voice - "To Theo: You make my world burst into color, so I hope this helps make your world a little more vibrant and a little more wild."

She handed the gift gently to Theodosia, who was looking expectantly at it, probably thinking it was Burr. However, when she tore it open, her face crumbled, and Angelica stole a look at her just as her face shattered.

Oh, she thought numbly. She doesn't like it.

Inside the Christmas wrapping paper - Angelica hadn't found anything else - she'd put together a homemade kaleidoscope for Theo using various types of rainbow glitter she'd scavenged from around the house, plastic wrap, tape, and cardboard, and made a visor that said “Best Photographer” in glittery block letters. She'd hoped against hope that Theo would like the simple kaleidoscope mainly, that she would see it and think of it as a new way to view the world - a new lens she could look through to take mental photos of her own.

"Angie?" Theo whispered. "Are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah," she stuttered out. "I'm fine."

"Was this you?" Awe, not disgust, was in Theo's voice. Angelica let herself hope.

"Yeah," she admitted quietly, ignoring Alex's, Lafayette's, Thomas's, John's, and Herc's whoops in the background.

"It's gorgeous, and I love it." Theo gently slid her fingers under Angelica's chin and pushed her face up so their eyes met. Both of them were teary-eyed, and they didn't need words in that moment.

"Okay, since our editor is occupied at the moment-"

"Alex, shut up, I'll do the rest of the gifts," she admonished him, laughing and pulling away from Theo, but not without taking the other woman's hand and squeezing it tightly.

"And oh, look at that. Here's one with writing that looks familiar," she laughed, seeing the color run away from Alex's face as he glanced at the box that was definitely his - Alex couldn't wrap to save his life, and everyone knew it. "Are you scared?" Angelica taunted.

"Uh, no! Why would I be scared? Or nervous?" His voice went up a couple of octaves, and everyone tried to hide back laughter - including Thomas, who Alex's eyes strayed to unconsciously.

Aaron shared a knowing look with everyone around the table while Alex wasn't paying attention, but that everyone included Thomas, who flushed red. He'd been texting James rapid-fire under the table -

"HELP ME"

"I AM DYING HE IS SO CUTE????"

"fuck he's so loud what the fuck"

"oh my god i want to ---

"SHUT UP THOMAS I AM W O R K I NG"

"ly james thanks for your support :-----))))))"

"oh shit it was his gift that was picked uH IM gonna crawl under the table now"

"jemmasdy m y/ hanskds are shakngi"

\- and when he forced himself to look up, clutching his phone so tightly he was afraid he was going to break it, the gift had been thrust in his face.

Aware that everyone's eyes were on him, Thomas quickly cast the note attached to the gift aside - he'd read it after he opened the present - and ripped off the wrapping paper, hands still shaking.

"Oh," he breathed out, his voice wavering. "This is -" he stumbled over words in his mind, trying to find the right ones. In all their arguments, Alex had never seen Thomas speechless, not once, and he was even more shocked when Thomas fast-walked out of the room.

"Is he okay?" asked Eliza, worry in her eyes as she turned to Alex.

"Hey, it's not my fault," he said, holding up his hands defensively. "I - I don't know, I've never seen him like this."

"Do you want to go check on him?" Herc suggested from beside her. John waggled his eyebrows, but stopped after a very conspicuous nudge from Aaron.

"Uh, I don't know if that'll help -"

Theodosia shoved him out the door. "Go."

/

 _getoutgetoutgetoutgetout_ -

When Thomas reached the bathroom stalls, he threw one open and collapsed against the wall, trembling.

 _ican'tbreatheican'tbreatheican't_ -

He stared at his hands, but he could feel his vision blurring.

Vaguely, he registered someone's footsteps heading into the bathroom and a person throwing open the stall door, a hand gingerly on his back.

"Jeff - Thomas."

 _notenoughnotenoughnotenough_ -

"What's your favorite color?"

"M-magenta."

"Favorite food?"

"Mac and cheese."

"Can you count with me? One, two, three, just like that."

one _two_ three one _two_ three one _two_ -

"Alexander," he breathed, gasping for air, hands still shaking and face still covered in sweat. "I-" Thomas choked on his words and turned to face the other man, expecting pity but seeing none of it.

"Thank you," Thomas whispered, realizing he'd grabbed at Alex's shirt.

Alex held him close and sang some lullaby in a scratchy voice, and Thomas reminded himself -

one _two_ three one _two_ three one _two_ -

that he was present and Alex was present and it was going to be okay.

After God knew how long, Thomas made an effort to get up, Alex at his side. He really, really didn't want to explain himself. He also really, really felt compelled to.

So he stumbled, again, over his words, cobbling together a hodge-podge explanation of his social anxiety (it comes in waves, it's not always like this, I've just gotten better at hiding it - Alex was a smart man, he read between the lines). Alex whispered the story in his ear, of how he was in the foster system and wrote his way out, wrote his way to better scholarships, how he had anger management issues (I still look at the note my parents wrote when they left me on the steps of that orphanage - Thomas saw it in Alex's eyes).

Before they came into view of everyone else on the staff, Alex took Thomas's hand and squeezed it.

"Onward and upward," Thomas quipped weakly, and hands apart, they came back inside together.

/

"While you were gone, me and John opened our gifts," Angelica blurted out as soon as the two of them walked back in. Oddly enough, it broke the awkward air in the room - Thomas and Alex managed grins when Angelica held up a scrapbook, from Theo, with pictures from her time as The Revolution's editor, and a pencil holder made from Angelica’s favorite gel pens, and when John proudly displayed a new pair of shades and homemade lip balm from Burr.

"Yeah, I know what you're thinking: Burr can make sunglasses?" John joked. "Turns out, the man has many secret talents. Some of which, I plan to-"

Angelica cleared her throat loudly. "Thank you for that enlightening comment, John. So, anyway, the only two people left are you two. Which implies that you had each other."

Alex stole a glimpse at Thomas, who, although still somewhat pale, looked like he was managing better than he had earlier.

"I guess I need to finish what I started," Thomas smiled, briefly. This time, he read the note to himself: "Thomas - you are the most brilliant person in this office, as much as I hate to admit it. I admire you on an innumerable amount of levels, and I can only hope this gift does you some sort of justice."

He peered down into the box, and took out a necklace, made of macaroni stringed together - "You moron," he laughed, forgetting about the past hour or so. His laugh made Alex laugh, too, and there were looks around the room.

"Where's the venom?" John whispered to Aaron.

"Ah, now you see why I bet for today."

Thomas gasped when he saw the other two things in the box: a magenta bowtie - "Yeah, Herc offered to teach me to make it," Alex shrugged nervously - and a handmade coloring book.

"You can draw?" Thomas said incredulously. "Holy shit, this is amazing."

I thought it'd help when you got anxious, Alex mouthed to him across the room when no one was looking.

Something warm filled Thomas's stomach, and before he realized it, he was hugging Alex, again.

"Alex is blushing!" Peggy called out playfully, only causing the both of them to blush even more furiously.

"Now for the last gift," Angelica called out, holding out a parcel to Alex. "Here."

Just as Thomas did, Alex read the note on the package to himself. "Alexander - you are singlehandedly the most infuriating person I have ever made my acquaintance with. However, for some reason, I enjoy your company and concede that yes, you are right more than fifty percent of the time. I hope this gift is everything you want and more."

The package was a weird shape, with a hump at the top and a rectangular bottom, and when Alex ripped off the wrapping paper, he was amused, but unsurprised, to see a Tupperware container filled with mac-and-cheese.

"That's - well, I guess it counts as homemade," Angelica relented.

"It's handKRAFTed," Thomas smirked, causing the entire room to erupt in groans. "I mean, to be fair, I really did make it from scratch, although I definitely considered using Kraft for the sake of that pun."

The rectangular base turned out to be-

"The first edition of the Federalist Papers," Alex breathed, in awe. "How'd you-"

"I have my sources, darlin'." Thomas winked at him, and in a heartbeat, Alex was at his side, giving him a hug as ferocious as the one Thomas had initiated a few minutes earlier.

"And now that we're all finished," Angelica interrupted loudly, "We have a proclamation to make. Mr. Burr, if you would do the honors?" she said in a faux-serious voice.

Aaron stood up, walked to the front of the room, and ceremonially cleared his throat, picking up a scroll that had been squashed by the various presents.

"The unanimous declaration of the ten people in this office, notwithstanding Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson - When in the course of human events, two people cannot cease their arguments but look longingly at each other from across the room, it becomes necessary for their coworkers to rise up."

Alex and Thomas were noticeably red and definitely not looking at each other, even though they were only a few feet apart, with Alex having stolen the empty chair next to Thomas.

Aaron gave them a pointed but playful look, then continued.

"We, the undersigned-" he rolled out the scroll to display ten signatures - "hold this truth to be self-evident, that aforementioned people, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, are head over heels for each other and need to relieve their sexual tension in some other way than incessant squabbling. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to not level too many HR penalties on them and to support their burgeoning relationship."

"Oh my god," Alex muttered. "I'm supposed to have feelings for this asshole?"

"Says the one who just hugged me." Thomas shrugged.

"Only one way to figure out if there are sparks. Throw a lighter at your afro."

"Shut up, Alex."

Thomas captured Alex’s lips with his own, and Alex swore he saw stars.

The volume of the hoots and cheers inside The Revolution's newsroom definitely broke a few window panes that day.

/

Come Monday, Aaron collected his winnings, smiling somewhat smugly, from the rest of his coworkers, who grudgingly pulled out their wallets.

"There was a pool on us?" Alex burst out after seeing everyone deposit a ten dollar bill on Aaron's desk - well, everyone except him and Aaron.

"Yeah, even James and Jon were in it."

"I mean, they weren't wrong - it would've happened eventually."

"You smug magenta asshole."

"But I'm your smug magenta asshole, right?"

"Oh my god, get a room!"

/

  
From the outside, _The Revolution_ ’s office looked like a nondescript building.

From the inside, it was an entirely different story.

Angelica and Theodosia walked in holding hands, Eliza and Herc teamed up to beat their own record for the fastest they'd delivered coffees to everyone's desks, John was helping Aaron take care of his plants, Laf and George were kissing in a corner, heatedly, Alex and Thomas were about to rip each others' clothes off (but in the meantime, were still arguing over who got the old-fashioned donut, loudly), and Maria and Peggy were taking candids of each of the couples for a new scrapbook.

All in all, a normal day at the office.

 

**Author's Note:**

> i have many other headcanons for this universe and may write more for it!! (psst tell me if you want me to write a spinoff or smt in the comments....and also tell me what you think bc i appreciate it thank :""))
> 
> kudos and comments make my world go round ty loves


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